ONE of my greatest teachers once explained the importance of knowing ourselves, inside and out. If we know who we truly are, he said, we know the truth of our being and the words of others cannot hurt us.

There was more to it and I’m paraphrasing, but that can be one of the hardest, most important and most rewarding lessons to learn.

Self-awareness is massive – and it’s a skill few people actually take the time to master. We float through life, knee-jerking from one drama-fest to another, very often without even realising we’ve been ensnared in someone else’s BS… or become embroiled in our own!

There will always be two sides to any coin. People often have agendas or hidden feelings the rest of us don’t see. There will frequently be spin.

It’s easy to be drawn in – to listen to the one-sided opinions of others and join in the melee, especially if we tell ourselves we’re supporting our peer group by doing so.

You know the kind of situation I’m talking about, right? The gossip, the bitching, the backbiting, the complaining – the stuff that so frequently goes on around the water cooler.

That kind of drama carries a low-level energy hit that can be a bit addictive, and sometimes we can be blinded by that instead of realising the impact of our actions.

In these situations, it’s worth asking ourselves
the following questions before we get sucked in too far:

Who, or what, is on the other side of that coin?

What’s their opinion?

Is steadfastly sticking to Side A hurting Side B?

Is there any need for it at all?

Is this all just one big red drama herring?

Am I missing out by not seeing the big picture here?

Remember, folks – politics can be loaded and dangerous… and they’re not only played out by politicians!

It’s no wonder our society is becoming so addicted to drama energy – those dopamine hits are like crack cocaine, and nobody’s teaching us how to get our kicks in a cleaner, healthier way. It’s just become the way of things. Don’t believe me? Spend an hour or so scrolling through Facebook!

EAGLE EYES

What would happen if we took the Eagle’s view? If we pulled up, high, high above the situation and saw the entire playing field?

We might see the truth of the situation.

We might be able to look at that coin from a place of balance and clarity.

We might decide that distance is the best option and that, actually, the air is far cleaner where we are!

ABUNDANCE

So… we can waste time getting lost in the drama and obsessing over which side is ‘right’, which side is ‘wrong’ and filling in the gaps for the bits we’re not clear on, or we can just step back from the negative energies and find a way to be thankful for all the abundance in our lives.

In most cases, to come full circle with this article, it’s learning to really know ourselves – living and breathing the truth of who we are – that allows us to spot other people’s drama and keep our own energy clean and balanced enough to avoid being lassoed.

Remember… other people’s opinions absolutely do not define you, and they often say more about their world view than your own!